Canon projector makes 80-inch screen from an inch away

Canon’s new projector can produce 80-inch images when positioned an inch away from a screen or wall, it announced on Tuesday.

Canon announced its first ‘ultra short-throw’ projector, which can produce an 80-inch image from an inch away.

The Tokyo-based electronics maker said its new LV-8235 projector will generate images of 1280 by 800 pixels at 2,500 lumens. The product is meant for boardrooms and classrooms, and can be positioned directly below or above the image it is projecting, eliminating glare in the eyes of presenters or shadows when people cross in front of the screen. It can also be set on a table top and used to project images horizontally.

The projector will go on sale in Japan and global markets this month. Canon estimated it will cost around ¥300,000 (US$3,900) in Japan. It is the company’s first projector that can create images at such a close distance, and will compete with similar products already released by rivals, such as Sanyo’s PDG-DWL2500 projector.

Canon’s proector is 38.5 cm long, and the lens projects from about 30 cm away when the edge of the unit is flush against a wall or screen. It uses a single DLP chip and can create images up to 110 inches across when moved further away. The projector offers a standard set of ports, including dual PC inputs, LAN cable and HDMI, and has an internal 10-watt speaker.